Mozambique: TotalEnergies denies having allocated funds for basketball team’s trip to Mexico

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Mozambique: TotalEnergies denies having allocated funds for basketball team’s trip to Mexico

7:19 CAT | 28 Aug 2024

Image: Lance Moz

The French multinational TotalEnergies has denied reports that it allocated around US$1.2 million, equivalent to around 80 million meticais, to the Sports Promotion Fund (FPD) to finance the recent and turbulent participation of the national senior women’s basketball team in the World Championship Pre-qualifying Tournament, which ran until last Sunday (25-08) in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.

In order to assess the veracity of the facts regarding this issue that has shaken up national basketball, LanceMZ contacted TotalEnergies to seek clarification on the matter, with the source categorically stating that “the company did not allocate any funds to the FPD that were intended to finance the national basketball team”, adding that “the news linking the multinational to supporting this campaign in Mexico is not true”.

When confronted with the amount of US$1.2 million that the Mozambican Basketball Federation claims were misappropriated by the Sports Promotion Fund, our source claimed that “it is all a huge mistake”, arguing that “this amount is part of the agreement signed in 2022 that at no time provided for support for women’s participation in the pre-qualification in Mexico”, and that “the amount in question is from the agreement signed in Quitunda, so I advise you to review what was said at the time regarding TotalEnergies’ involvement in supporting basketball”.

Following these recommendations from multinational TotalEnergies, which is familiar with the basketball support dossier, LanceMZ consulted its archives, specifically the article published on 12 November 2022, entitled “Total Energies injects US$1.2 million into the expansion and support of the national women’s basketball team”, having found that the amount in question was intended to finance the “initiative to expand basketball and support the participation of the national senior women’s team in the main continental competitions and the qualifying stage for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games”.

Support for the women’s national team ended after it failed to qualify for 2024 Olympic Games

Further on, our source explained that “support for the women’s basketball team was provided in several competitions that were supposed to lead to qualification for the [2024] Olympics, and Mozambique participated in the qualifying phase for the African Championship held in Zimbabwe and in the final phase of AfroBasket held in Rwanda, all in 2023. This is where the country ended its participation in the race for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and, as it did not go ahead, the funding also ended”.

On the other hand, our interlocutor explained that “an agreement was never signed with the Mozambican Basketball Federation”, adding that the remaining components of the memorandum signed with the Government of Mozambique, through the State Secretariat for Sports (SED) and which was represented by the Sports Promotion Fund, remain in force.

“Through Mozambique LNG, operated by TotalEnergies, we continue to support the basketball massification project that involves a total of 600 children – 150 from Palma, 150 from the Mocímboa da Praia and Pemba regions and the same number from Maputo – in an initiative called Pamoja Tunaweza (Together We Can Do It), which is being implemented in Cabo Delgado by the New Vision Academy and in Maputo by the Mozambican Basketball School, and which continues to receive our direct support for its implementation,” said our source, who regretted “the fuss that is made whenever there is support or financing for Mozambican sport”.

Concluding the conversation, our source recalled that “TotalEnergies has been present in Mozambique since 1991. The company operates in two segments: Marketing & Services and Research & Production”, and highlighted that the “French multinational is governed by principles of transparency, since it is listed on the stock exchange”.

Source: Lance Moz